Shorthand typewriting machine



' Oct. 1, 1946.r J. l.. sT'lxRuD sHoRTHAND TYPEWRI'HNGv MACHINE FiledNov. a. 1945 3 sheets-'sheet 3 INVENTOR ffwf ATTORNEY Patented Get. l,1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,408,452 l sHoR'rHAND TYPEWRITINGMACHINE John L. Stixrud, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application November 8, 1943, Serial No. 509,514

11 Claims.

y vThis invention relates to typewriting machines and more particularlyto shorthand typewriting machines by means of which the operator is ableto type several letters or characters at a single stroke on thekeyboard, and the primary purpose of which is to attain great speed inwriting.

Among the objects. of theinvention are: To

'provide a new kind of iinger-depressible key which may be struck insuch a way as to be tilted in a plurality .of diferent directions toimprint different type letters, thereby reducing the number of keysheretofore found necessary to provide for typing, for example, theVarious letters of the English alphabet; to render the casing forcontaining the working parts of the minimum size considering thecharacter of the typing mechanism contained therein; and to provide asimpliiiedmeans for mounting and controlling the operation of theaforesaid keys.

The invention inc1udes, among other novel features, an outstandingdeparture from the conventional arrangement of .typewriting 'machines inthat the platen is placed on the side of the machine rather than facingthe operator. Accordingly, the bars or rods for'actuating the printingmechanism are arranged so as to extend toward and from the platen. Thekeys and their supporting bars cross the printing bars at a right angle.By this novel arrangement a great many advantages and improvements overexisting typewriting machines and shorthand typewriting machines areobtained;

In order to promote speedof operation a'shorthand machine should haveasimple keyboard with a relatively small number .or` keys.v On the otherhand it is desirable that thefrnac'hine include sufficient characterstorepresent :all the sounds of the spoken language. In shorthand 'machinesas hitherto constructed the keyboard has usually been either cumbersomedue to a large number of keys, or else because of asystem With thesekeys the operator can type 45 lettersv or characters, which number issufficient to 'write English without the use of codes. y.

While the primary object of the invention is to provide a shorthandmachine, yet'o'ther uses are possible. For, asA the words and sentencesprinted by the ymachine can be understood by any average person, it isnot necessary to retype a message on the typewriter if it is of aninformal nature, such as an inter-department communication. If greaturgency exists, for example, of a military nature, the paper strip canbe torn off and dispatched and the contents can be easily readandunderstood by the recipient.

. Itv may happen during the operation of a shorthand machinethat thesupply of paper becomes exhausted. It then becomes necessary to rell thepaper container and rethread the paper strip around the platen and theassociated rollers. It

Yis important that as little time as possible be lost in this operation.With these requirements in view it is an object of this invention toprovide a simplified and otherwise improved arrangement of the structureto afford quicker access to the interior of the machine so that a newsupply of paper can be more quickly put in place and speedily arrangedfor a continuance of the typing op.

eration.

Other objects, advantages and features of .inf vention will hereinafterappear.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate what is atpresent deemed to .be a preferred embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the complete machine.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 4 is a view showing the machine partly in side elevation and partlysectioned on irregular line 4-4 of Fig. 5, parts .being broken out toshorten the view.'

Fig. 5 is a view partlyin plan and partly in horizontal section on line5,-5 of Fig. 4, parts being broken out to contract the view. e

Fig. 6` is a fragmental vertical section online 6-.6 of Fig. 5.

l Fig; 7 is a .fragmental View. or" Fig. 4 showing .the device in an'open position ready to install the paper strip to be typed upon.

- Fig. `8 is a sectional View on line 8 8 of Fig, '7.

`Referring in detail to the drawings, the terms near and far ashereinafter used in describing the machine, refer to the same as Viewedin Figs. 1, 4 and 5.

The machine has a frame or housing portion I which is upwarly swingablein relation to its double base which consists of plates 2 and 3. The

lower of these .plates 3 ishinged on the near side .of the frame 4 andis held in position on the far side bythe lever 5 pivoting on the pin 6on the arm 1 which is fastened to the base. The lower base plate 3 hasan upstanding rack member 8 with a series of grooves 9 into which the 3hammer head of the lever is held by the spring IB. The bottom of themachine is suitably cushioned.

Fastened to the base plate 2 is the paper container i2 into which isplaced the folded paper strip I3 on which the printing is done. The endportion of the paper strip emerges (as indicated in Figs. 4 and 7) fromthe paper container I2. The guide roller I5, which pivots on the shaftI5 is fastened to they frame by means of the arms 58, is caused by aspring 59 to hold the paper strip close to the platen.

rfhe rubber roller i8, pivoted on the shaft I9 mounted on the frame I,serves Athe purpose of holding the paper strip against theplaten. The

shield and the paper guide 42 are both supported from the frame I in anysuitable manner. The paper shield ll2 is serrated at lil to Vfacilitatetearing off the paper strip when desired.

The platen 4 pivots on the shaft 44a fastened to the brackets 43. On theneal` end of the platen is a ratchet wheel d5. The dog 46 is carried bythelpivoted layer 48. This lever swings upon the shaft |50; carried bybracket 43. One end of the barils is pivotally connected by means of apin -55 to the lower arm d8a of the lever 48,., the opposite end of Saidbar l being pivotally connected by-a pin 5i to the upper end of aswingable bar The adapter 52 serves to adjust the length of the bar de.The bar 53 pivots at its lower end on a pin 5 fastened to the bracket43. The spring 55 holds the edge of thebar 53 against a stop 5S so thatthe end of said bar G9 is just in front Aof the arm 5l, which is part ofthe spacing `mechanism of the machine to be explained later. -Whenthearm v5l moves towards the right (Fig. 4), it pushes Vthe arm -ll towardthe right causing the dog-l5 -to move away from the ratchet wheelone-notch. When the arm 5l returns to neutral position the spring 55will cause the lever `I3 to return to its neutral position, thus causingthe dog '15 to move forward and turn the platen one notch thus spacingthe printed writing.

YIt will be noticed from the above description that the paper container,platen, spacing mechanisrn and a shield '42a are fastened to the baseAof the'machine and that all other parts are fastened to its frame I,the frame I being hinged at the extreme left (see Figs. k4 and 7), tothe base at 23. Said frame and top and side covers are deta'chablyconnected by the clasp `6| Yat the extreme right, and the top and sideAcover is connected to the base by a similar clasp 62 at the far side-offrame l. By releasing the claspSI the top and side cover carrying withit the frame I can be lifted up lid fashion exposing the paper containerand the platen which are fastened to -vof the paper strip pulled overthe platen, and by closing the machine, the guide rollers and the papershield will be caused to fall into their proper places, the machine thenbeing refilled and ready for further operation.

-If it is desired to inspect or adjust the printing assembly 65 or otherparts of the mechanism fastened to the frame, the top and side cover canbe lifted after the clamps 6I and 62 have been released. Then the topand side cover can be raised but the frame will remain in position.Apertures 2li and 2da are provided around the keys to permit the removalof the ktop and side cover when they are disconnected from the enclosedframe. To protect the internal mechamsm and improve the appearance ofthe machine,

point.

' be explained later.

top plates 63 and S4 are provided to cover the parts underneath thekeys.

The keyboard has three rows of keys 1li, II and l2. As the keys in eachrow act alike the description of one key assembly in each row willsuffice. The key plate having marked upon it DF in row 7i) is supportedby the shoulder '|3 of the angular key bar 'I4 which extends downward onthe far side of the chassis and is held in place by the groove 'l5(seeFig. 5) in the edge of the top plate 63. The upper guide bar 'I6extends the length of the keyboard, is fastened to the top plate 53 andpenetrates the key bar "'M through-the slot TI. key barv is held inplace by the lower edge of the frame l5 which is bent at right angle atthis The lower guide bar 'i9 extending the length Vof the keyboard, isfastened to the frame edge "iii and penetrates the slot in the key barld. The spring 8| fastened to the tongue S2 (see Fig. 2) and to theguide bar "'lS returns the angle bar to normal position after vbeingdepressed. The Ykey plate '83 has lugs 84 and 85 extending downward.These lugs have bearing apertures 8G and Si'. The shoulder i3 carriespins penetratingl the apertures 86 and 81 of the lugs 84 and 85respectively, permitting the keyplate to pivot laround these pins sothat the key plates can be tipped to the right or to the vleft iftouched off center by the operator. The apertured stop lugs 8E fastenedto the key plate'l3'limits this tipping. The spring 89 fastened to thelower end of the lug andthe arm 90 lprotruding from the key bar l@ keepsthe key plate 83 in its horizontal position when not operated. The angleiron 9| running the length of the keyboard has a cushion of felt orsimilar material 92 fastened to it and acts as a stop for the bar 'i4 bycontact with the arm The angle iron 9| is fastened to the frame and 'isadjustable. y

The keys in row 'l2 are three in number and are actuated by the thumbsof the operator. For convenience of operation they are vplaced lowerthan the rows "Hl and 'II and their arrangement differs' to a certainextent. The T-shaped arm or key bar 94 has an arm 95 extending towardthe center of the machine the purpose of which will The key plate 96pivots at 'S7 andv98, `the pivoting .and stop arrangement being the sameas described for the keys in rows lil and The arm 94 is held in place byan aperture in the bottom plate |110, said plate being fastened to andextending from the frame of the machine and beingconnected by an endplate Il. The felt lpad |52 fastened on the underside of the top plate'6d serves as a stop after the arm 94 has vbeen depressed, to limit theupward movement of said arm by engaging the extension thereof. Thespring |03 fastened'to the connection Ia and the L-shaped arm Mi acts as'a return spring. The spring |65 leading from the lower part of thepivot member 97 to the L- Yshaped arm |01 keeps the key .plate 95 in itshorizontal position when not operated.

Running substantially the lengthof the machine from the platenyto theopposite end of the machine is a plurality of strap like bars I IB Vheldin upright position as to their breadth by the spacer plates I II andII'2 and supported on the left by the gear segments H3 and IM. whichmesh with the bars. The springs I|5 and IIB hold the ends of the barsagainst the stop I Il which consists of an angle bar II8 and a cushion.The angle b ar IIS has screws in a slot IIS (see Fig. 4) foradjustments. At the right 0f the machine the The lower part of the "barsl rest on theguide pin |20 extending across Aextending upward andslightly bent laterally at the point |23 so that the right end portionof ,said arm isdirectly over the arm of the coacting bar |24.V Thesearms have rack portions at the right end and between them is the`floating gear |25 forming a concentric, laterally extending part of theprinting wheel |26 held in an upright position by the spacer plates I||.On theright hand portion of the periphery of the printing wheel andfacing the platen are four circumferentially spaced apart letters orcharacters |3I, |32, |33 and |34. When the floating gear is in itsnormal position two of these characters are located above the axis ofthe wheel and the other two therebelow. Y,

Meshing with the far side bar of the coacting pair of bars is a gearsegment |21 fixed to the shaft |40 which rotates in the bearing holesl40a. Meshing with the near side bar of the coacting pair is a. gear |28xed tothe hollow shaft |42 which pivots on the shaft |40. l'Directlyabove these gears and extending downward from the apertured stop lug 88is an integral finger |29. The thickness of this finger is equal to thecombined thickness of the two coacting gears |21 and |28. When in normalposition said nger |29 is immediatelyabove the middle point |30. Whenthe operator touches the key plate 83 a little to the right of thecenter the finger |29 moves to the left to the point or shoulder |3I. Asthe key 83 is thereupon depressed the `iinger |29 moves downward at thispoint and depresses the selected gear |21 causing the far side of thecoacting bar H0 to move to the right. The arm |22 of said bar moving tothe right acts on the upper edge of the gear |25 causing it to start arolling motion in a clockwise direction until the finger |29 hasdepressed the gear |21, till its upper edge has reached the level of theupper edge of gear |28. At this point of the operation the printingWheel has-turned clockwise so that the letter or character at |3| hasreached the printing line, that is to say isdirected horizontally andfaces the platen. As the key 88 continues its downward motion both gears|21 and |28 are depressed and the connected coacting bars are pushed tothe right at the saine speed, causing the rolling motion of the printingwheel to be replaced by a side motion vuntil the letter or charactercontacts the platen and the printing of that particular letter or char-Yacter results. Y

If the operator touches the key plate a little to the left of the centerthe finger |29 will move t0 the right until it reaches the point |35. Inthis positionthe gear |21 will travel a longer distance before the nger|29 reaches the upper edge of gear |28. As a resultthe far side bar ||0which meshes with gear |21 will travel farther toward the right causing`the clockwise rolling motion of the printing wheel |25 to be moreextended so that by the time the linger |29* reaches the upper edge ofthe gear the letter V|3| has moved downward till itis in the printingline. By the continued downward motion of the finger |29, now acting onthe upper edge of both gears |21 and |28, these gears will cause.

both the associated coating bars to move to the right at the sameYspeed. The clockwise motion of thel printing wheel will thus stop andwill be replaced by a side motion until the letter oon- The varms thenear ends ofthe shafts |53 and |54. Hinged 6 tacts the platen and theprinting of this particularletter results.

.'As will be seen from this description the key vplates in row ,10 asrepresented by the key plate .DF cause either one of the two upperletters vonthe Yprinting wheel to be printed accordingv tohow thekey.plate-DF is being tipped, either to: the right or the left, as thekey is being de- -pressed..

The two lower letters on the printing wheels |33 and |34 are similarlyactuated by the key plates in row as represented by the key BS. Fixedtothe` shaft |40 is the arm |43 and xed to the .hollowv shaft |42 is'thearn |44. The upper edges downward it first moves the near side bar ||0causing the arm |24 t0 move to the right turning the lower edge of thegear |25 forward creating a counterclockwise 'motion causing the letterat |33 or the letter at |34 on the printing wheel to lmove into theprinting line accordingy to whether the key plate BS is being tipped tothe right or to the left.

The two keys DF and BS together control the four letters on the printingwheel facing the platen kon the extreme far side of the machine.Similarly the pair of key plates PK and TG control the four letters onthe second printing wheel counting from the far side of the machine. Thekey plates MC and VW control the third printing wheel, and so on, untilthe pair of key yplates 'I: and SJ on the extreme right control theprinting wheel nearest the operator.

It will be noted that the keys are marked on the drawings forexplanatory purposes only. The ,keys on the machine representing saidtype will be blank.

The keys *ofl a third row 'l2 are actuated by ithe thumbs and are usedto print the vowels. Each key actuates its separate printing wheel`which has only two letters or characters. The

f bars and thev printing wheels connected with rthese keys are in thecenter of the bar and printing wheel arrangement ||0. Fixed to the shaft|53y is a gear |45 and xed to the hollow shaft |54 isa gear |46. Theshafts |53 and |54 extend l*beyond the side of the frame through anvaperturei.- The shaft |53 rotates aty suitable bearing holes |4| and|48, the latter in an aux- Qiliary plate |49 attached to the side of theframe.

|50 and |5| are xed respectively too onthe arml 95'and extending upwardis a finger |55, the top of which extends above the upper edge of-thearms |50 and |5|, the L-shaped extension |56 of which protrudesabove the arms |50-and |5|. 'Iheiinger |55 is kept in upright positionby the-forkshaped end of the L-shaped arm |51` which is fastened tothefar side of the .key plate 95. When thekey plate 901s tipped to theright the arm |51 will cause the nger |55 to move to the left directlyover` the arm |5| and when continuing the downward movement of the keyassembly 96 the arm |5| and shaft1|54 will cause the gear |45 to movethe near side horizontal bar v|||| toward' the right causing the letterin position |33 on the printing wheel to move Aintothe,printing line.4'The continued downward vlish language.

"7 stroke will then also move the 'arm |50, .the shaft |53 and gear |45thereby causing simultaneous 'movement of both-gears which movesthe-printing wheel into contact with'the platen. When the key plate 'S6is tpped'tor-the le'ft the"ari`r1 l''5'l will cause the 'finger |55tomove to the'right directly -over'thefarm 1| t'ilactuatingfrst the fbarat the'far side of the coactingbars Hf'and causing the printing wheel tobring the related letter in position into vthe printing line and-subs'ecniently incontact with the platen.

The arrangement of each key assembly ofe'ach row is similar except thekey which -prints the numeral 4 and serves 'as a yspace key. Thearrangement oi this key is'th'ere'fore different. IThe gears l2? and |28are the `same as for the other keys but the arms |58 and |59 are shorterthan the arms M3 and |44 `serving the other keys ibecause only onecharacter, the Anumeral 4 is to be printed. It is desired that noprinting takes place when the key l (and space) is touched Son the rightside (the space side) Vbut it is necessary that a bar -be then 'movedsideways the same as is the case with the bars Il!! in order that thespacing device will be actuated. An additional gear |63 (see Fig. -5)-is therefore provided which is engaged by the finger |29 underneath theplate 4 (and space) and the width of this iinger is extended to coverthree thicknesses-of the gears to accommodate this additional `gear inaddition to the arms |58 and |59. The gear t6 meshes with a bar lillawhich is cut ofi 'shortly beyond the slot `|2| and the guide pin |29 soas not to interfere with the printing wheels.

'Extending through the slot |`2| of all the bars v| lil is a floatingshaft |65. The near end of this shaft is connected with one vend of thearm |65 the other end of said arm being pivotally connected at |61? tothe aforesaid arm 57|. When any of the bars im, including the spacingbar, move to the right the shaft it will be pushed toward 'the right andmove the bar |66 inthe same direction thereby actuating the spacingdevice at* tached to the platen as has already 4been described, and alsooperating the inking device 65.

The arrangement of letters and characters on the printing mechanism iscapable of many variations. As'the keys which appear opposite each otherin row it and 'H act in pairs sharing one printing wheel, only one ofthe four letters or characters indicated on each pair of same Ycan beprinted at any one time. In making this arrangement of the letters andcharacters of the vkey board care has been taken that letters attachedto anyone printing wheel do notas arule appear together in words orsyllables of the Eng- A high degree of similarity in appearance existsbetween letters and numerals making it possible to use rsome 'of theletters as substitute for rnumerals and vice versa. Thus I will 'be usedto express the numeral y1, the numeral 2 'will be used to express theletter "Z, the initial letter S will be used to express the numeral 5,and G to express the numeral 6. rihe numeral 7 will be used to expressthe the letter 2, while the numeral 9 will express the letter Q When soused even the uninitiated will have no di'fculty in understanding theirmeaning. 'When writing vowels the `is used to indicate thepronunciationof the vowels to ma-ke phonetic expression easier; thuslong O, A, I and U are 'preceded bythe 'Long E is written EA. Thus hod'and hood fare written letters ""I and kLT and the numeral 8 to express-HOD and IfI-OD; iar and `fare arewritten "FARA "andIF-AR; bit' 'andbiteare Written iBIT and B-IT and dud :and dude are writtenDUD and D-UD.

The vcharacter z vat the extreme right key is used to indicate that avowel at 'theend of'a word is omitted. Thus 'ready `is written READz.Handy 'is written HANDz. This character can also, :if fd'esired, be usedto rexpress long vowels, thus yfare, bite and dude can be written FAR;']3I"1":V and DUD z..

1I claim: f

`1. In amachine of the kind described, a support, two Vbars mountedthereon in 'a generally adjacent .parallel vrelation to each other, eachof `said .bars having an end portion furnished along one iside with `alseries of vgear teeth, said two 'fseries of ftee'th rb'ein'g Adirectedtoward I each other with va rspace between them, a'floating gearoccupying said space .and 'in mesh with both -of said series of teeth, aplurality of 'type vcharacters circuiriferentially spaced along ape'ripheral -portion of said gear, .a 'manually vdepressible v keymounted Von said support, said key being 'initially adjustfable ftolas'su'me either` Soi two `positions preparatory Ito its `depression,and means operatively connecting said key with both of -said bars toimpart to them a longitudinal Ymovement when depressed, one of said barsbeing moved 'during the entire downward movement fof vsaid Akey and theother of said bars being movedfo'nly duri-ng a greater or lesserpa'rt ofthenal portion of the downward movement of said key, the extent of themovement ofthe latter Ibar depending upon the aforesaidinitialladjustment of Isai'd key, and a platen mounted uponsaidsup'portinto a printing relation with which one oi'the 'typecharacters of said gear is brought at I'the end of the slidingmovement'of fsaid bar's laftersaiol :key has been initially ladjusted inone positio'mano'ther of the type characters of said gear beingcontacte'd with said platen after said key yis adjusted inthe other ofits initial positions.

2. The `subject matter -of claim 1 and, means whereby said bars and keyare automatically -returned to their original positions after-the opera-"ti'o'n -of said key.

3. In a machine of the vkind described, vin combination, a support, adepressible vkey bar mounted thereon, a key provided with a downwardlydirected finger, vsaid 'key being tiltably mounted 'swings when said'key is depressed 'after being swung to one tilted position, said 'armbeing contacted -by said ringer vat 'a different 'distance from its axisof swing when said key is "depressed 'after being tilted to anotherposition, a plurality of type characters operatively conlnected withvsaid swinga'ble "arm, the aforesaid variable swinging of Vsaid armserving to select the predetermined character lto be typed, and meansmounted on said support to automatically restore 'theo'perating 'parts'to their original positions after typing operations. y

4. The subject matter of claim 3 and said arm having a side portionfurnished with two shoulders atdiiierent distances from the axis aboutvwhich the arm swings, said 'finger contacting with erial surfacethereof, a selectively Vpresented and the movement n vnally other beingmoved only a iloating-type-carrying wheel to cooperate with .saidplaten, said wheel having gear teeth andv a 1 plurality ofcircumferentially spaced apart type ment of said key depending upon theinitial tilty Y ingy thereof, and typing means operatively conmesheswith one side of said type wheel and the other with l the opposite sidethereof, vkey operated means mounted on said support whereby one of saidbars is longitudinally moved a predetermined distance toward the platenand then the other 'l bar is caused to move with it and at the same rateof speed until a selected type of the plurality on said floating wheelis caused to print a character upon a sheet of paper overlying saidplaten,

typing operations.

6. In a machine of the kind described, in combination, a rotary typingwheel having a plurality of type characters spaced on the periphactuatedtiltable operating key to perform a selecting operation by its ownmovement in one of two directions, a pair of longitudinally movablebarsoperatively connecting the operatingkey with the typing wheel, themovement of one of said bars by the initial portion of the depression ofsaid key during one selectivev tilting selecting the type to be by thefull depression of said key during said one selective tilting moving thetyping wheel into printing position in accordance with the selectivemovement of the operating key, and intervening mechanism operativelyyconnecting said typing wheel, movable bars and operating key to carryout a printing operation.

'7. In a machine of the kind described, in combination, a rotary type'wheel having a plurality of type characters thereon, a pair oflongitudislidable bars, each of said bars being operatively connected tosaid type wheeLa platen, a typing key, means operatively connecting saidslidable bars and said typing key, said typing key being adapted to betilted to engage, through the medium of saidV means, one bars and toactuate the sameupon initial de,- pression to select the desired typecharacter von said wheel, said key upon further depression actuatingboth of said slidable bars, through the medium ofy said means, to bodilymove the type wheel with the selected character thereon into printing(engagement with theplaten.

8, In a machine of the kind described, in combination, a support, adepressible kkey bar mounted thereon which when released automaticallyreturns to its original position, a key mounted on said bar to tilt fromone to the other of either of two positions preparatory to beingmanually depressed together with said bar, said key having a downwardlydirected finger, two members movably mounted upon said support in thepath taken by said finger when said key is depressed, one of saidmembers being moved during the entire operative downward movement of thekey and the duringA a greater orA lesser part of the nal portion of thedownward moveand means vto automatically restore the; operating parts totheir original positions after of both of said bars Y of said slidablenected with said membersand including two type one or the other of whichis selectively positioned for a printing operation by the initialmovement of the full stroke member and subsequently moved into printingposition by the 'combined movements of both members.

9. In a machine of the kind described, in combination, a support, adepressible key bar mounted thereon which when released automaticallyreturns to its original position, a key Vmounted on' said bar to tiltfrom one to the other of either of -ftwo positionspreparatory to beingmanually depressed togetner with said bar, two members movably mountedupon said support in the path of said key, one of said members beingmoved during the entireoperative downward movement of said key and theother being moved only during a greater or lesser part of the finalportion of the downward movement of said key depending upon the initialtilting thereof, and typing means mounted upon said support andoperatively connected with said members, said typing means including twotype one or the other of which is selectively positioned for a printingoperationA by 'the vmovement of one of said movable members and.subsequently moved into printing position by the combined movement oiboth of said members.

10. In a machine of the kind described, in combination, a support, adepressible key bar mounted thereon which when released automaticallyreturns to its original position, a key mounted on said bar to tilt fromone tothe other of either 1 of two positions preparatory to beingmanually `relation to the axis about which said gear segments turn,thereby varying ythe amount of the turning movement imparted to saidgear segments by each complete depression of said key, typing mechanismmounted upon said support and comprising two type characters, a platenin cooperative relation to said type characters, operative means betweensaid gear segments and said type characters whereby one of said typecharacters is directed toward said platen by a full depression of theaforesaid key when tilted to one position and the other of said type.characters is directed toward said platen byy a full depression of saidkey when tilted to its otherposition, and

means whereby said key bar, gear segments and typing mechanism areautomatically restored to normal position after each printing operation.

11. The subject matter of claim 10 and, oneof said gear segments havingan edge portion furnished with two shoulders at different distances fromthe axis about which such gear segment turns, said finger contactingwith one of said 'shoulders in one tilted position of the key and with uthe other shoulder in the other tilted position thereof. l

JOHN L. STIXRUD.

